British Medical Association (BMA) doctors have voted to demand a permanent ban on selling cigarettes to those born after the millennium – i.e. kids who are currently 14 or under. The group’s ambitious plan is to make British society tobacco free by 2035.

“It is not expected that this policy will instantly prevent
all people from smoking, but [rather it will] de-normalise
cigarette smoking,” said London research assistant in
academic public health, Dr Tim Crocker-Buqué at the meeting.
“The level of harm caused by smoking is unconscionable.”

The decision was made at the British Medical Association's annual
representatives' meeting on Tuesday. The doctors’ voting in favor
means that the doctors’ union will push for the British
government to introduce the ban.

The BMA has previously been successful in its attempts to
clampdown on smoking. After votes in 2002 and 2011 bans on
smoking in public places and cars carrying children were
introduced.

According to Crocker-Buqué, some 100 million people died as a
result of tobacco-related illness during the 20th century. He
added that nine out of 10 smokers wished they had never started.

He added that teenagers cannot make informed choices about taking
up the habit.

“Eighty per cent of smokers start as teenagers as a result of
intense peer pressure,” he said. “Smokers who start
smoking at age 15 are three times as likely to die of
smoking-related cancer as someone who starts in their
mid-20s.”

“As doctors, we see first-hand the devastating effects of
tobacco addiction,” he said. He went on to talk about how
even after cancer is diagnosed, some patients don’t stop.

Sheila Hollins, chair of the BMA's board of science, said the
vote was a step towards helping to prevent children from entering
the cycle of taking up smoking. The group has a plan to try and
ensure British society is tobacco free by 2035.
However, some criticized the potential move, saying it could pave
the way for black-market cigarette sales.

“The potential health risks of those may be even greater than
those of legal cigarettes,” said Aberdeen medical student
Adrianna Klejnotowska. Birmingham associate specialist in ENT,
Yohanna Takwoingi, said that aiming for a total ban was just
‘headline grabbing’ and ‘sensationalist’.